supplies would have been drawn I have already described. It is a very poor country indeed; land thin, little cultivation, and almost impossible to obtain any forage for animals in that locality for any length of time.

Question. Do you know anything about the Anderson or Therman road where it ascends the mountain from the Sequatchie Valley - whether it is good or bad?

I have no personal knowledge of that road. All I could state would be from information reported to me at the time. I was never farther than altamont on that road.

Question. Did you learn while you were in that region that the enemy had worked upon that road and were the enemy's cavalry on that road about the time of your being there?

It was reported to me that the enemy was improving that road by parties I sent as far out as Altamont and scouting parties I sent out who encountered the enemy on that road. The opinion in regard to the improvement of the road was derived from citizens of the country.

Question. Could an army advance across the mountains by that road and descend into the plains by any roads you have described without difficulty?

I think they could, sir. We found it a great deal easier to get down than to get up.

Question. What is the distance from Jasper, the extreme road on one flank by which an enemy could march from the Sequatchie Valley, and Sparta, the point on the other extreme by which he could march from valley?

Following the outlines of the mountains from Jasper around by the way of Decherd, McMinnville, and Sparta, in regard to guarding all the ensues from the mountains, would cover a distance of over 100 miles.

Question. What force in proportion to the force of the enemy do you think would be necessary to guard such a line as that, the enemy in the Sequatchie Valley screened by the mountains and having the option of emerging from the valley by any of the various routes you have described considering all the possibilities of concentration?

I should think it would require a force from one-third to one-half larger than that of the enemy to do this effectually and to save the detachments from being overwhelmed before concentration had taken place.

Question. State, if you please, general, the disposition of the people of Middle Tennessee toward the Government and the army of the whole country in which we were operating.

The disposition of the people at that time, amounting almost to unanimity, was exceedingly hostile. The people of the districts I passed through were, with few exceptions, all rebels. The only locality I have ever been in in Tennessee in which I met with any evidence of genuine loyalty was Shelbyville. Of course here and there I met with an isolated individual who was loyal and had maintained his devotion to the Government, and I made it a point to learn of such persons with a view of getting information from them.

Question. Do you suppose it possible to conceal the movements of an army from the enemy in the midst of such a population?

I do not, sir.

Question. Is it possible to procure supplies for an army in the midst of such a population otherwise than by using force, supposing there are supplies?

I have always found it necessary to guard all my trains and protect all my operations for gathering supplies in Tennessee, and I do not think it would be possible to supply an army without covering its foraging parties in such a country with strong guards.